"Same Old Story" at Texas Motor Speedway

FORT WORTH, Texas-- Vitor Meira summed up qualifications on Friday afternoon for the Firestone 550K at Texas Motor Speedway: "same old story."

Team Penske and Target Chip Ganassi Racing have a stronghold on the first five positions.

Ryan Briscoe, who was second quickest during Friday morning's practice session behind Scott Dixon, won the pole with a four-lap average speed of 215.273. Next to him will start this year's Indianapolis 500 winner, Dario Franchitti. A year ago, Franchitti was the pole sitter at Texas Motor Speedway.

Briscoe's teammate, Will Power, will share Row Two with Franchitti's team, Scott Dixon.

The 2009 Firestone 550K winner, Helio Castroneves, starts fifth. Alex Lloyd, driving for Dale Coyne Racing, qualified sixth--an impressive follow-up to his fourth place finish at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Qualifying runs for Andretti Autosport drivers varied.

Danica Patrick had the team's best qualifying run and will start eighth. After finishing third in the Indianapolis 500, Marco Andretti will start tenth. Tony Kanaan qualified thirteenth, but after his charge to the front during the Indy 500, this is hardly news to sound the alarm.

The same can also be said for Ryan Hunter-Reay who earlier this year, at Kansas Speedway, finished fifth despite a disappointing twenty-second qualifying run. Hunter-Reay, who is wearing a carbon fiber splint on his left thumb after having ligaments reattached, is starting twenty-fourth. Hunter-Reay will be driving in a reconfigured cockpit with all push buttons located on his right-side.

Milka Duno surprised spectators during morning practice when she clocked in sixth fastest. Qualifcations were another story. Although she starts seventeenth, Duno remained competitive beating out strong drivers such as Tomas Scheckter, Alex Tagliani and Simona De Silvestro, for position.

Scheckter will be driving the No. 24 Dad's Root Beer car for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing after a horrifying accident involving Mike Conway and Ryan Hunter-Reay has halted Conway's 2010 season. Schekter has ten previous starts at Texas Motor Speedway under his belt, including a win for Panther Racing in 2005.

De Silvestro(R), recipient of the Chase Rookie of the Year Award at the Indianapolis 500 Victory Celebration on May 31, starts at the back of the field in twenty-sixth position. She has her work cut out for her as she needs to pick cars off at the same time she is gaining experience on a high bank oval.

The seventh race on the 2010 IZOD IndyCar Series, the Firestone 550K
gets underway at 8 p.m. (EST) on Saturday, June 5. It will be broadcast live on VERSUS.

Twenty-six cars are entered in the race taking place at Texas Motor Speedway, a 1.5-mile oval with 24 degree banking in the turns.

Robyn Lynne Schechter